To the Editor:
I am writing to endorse Mark Austin for the Fillmore City Council. After serving over 9 years on the Fillmore City Council and 8 years on the Fillmore Planning Commission, I understand the passion and drive it takes to be a good servant leader who not only governs fairly by listening to their constituents, but also to stay ahead of the curve from state legislation which often encumbers and ties the hands of city officials getting their job done as a leader for the community.
I have worked with Mark for over 20 years between the Fillmore City Council and Planning Commission, and know firsthand of Marks dedication to the City of Fillmore and its residents. Mark Austin has a full understanding of how to get things done and work around the increasing red tape of local government. Mark is a dedicated and proven leader who knows how balance the needs of the residents, keep a balanced budget and still get critical projects done for the greater community.
Our nation, county and local cities are changing quickly and plagued with increased crime and lack of funding. Continuing this election cycle with strong and knowledgeable leadership is critical to ensure we are able to maintain and increase our quality of life in Fillmore. I have full confidence that Mark Austin will continue do that for the city we all love and call home.
Mark Austin has my full endorsement for the Fillmore City Council and I hope you will also vote for Mark to keep Fillmore the last, best Small Town in Southern California.
Diane McCall, former Mayor, City of Fillmore
To the Editor:
Martin, you asked with a presumably straight face, “Why do Democrats keep bringing up ancient allegations of Trump sexual crimes?” Because:
(1) he’s running for president and has a long history as an immoral sexual actor,
(2) “sexual crimes” are an indication of lack of character and the disdain with which he holds women. Trump has made sexual comments about his own daughter. He gave on-air permission to Howard Stern to refer to Ivanka as a “piece of a**,” and made other comments in the Oval about her physical attributes, to which Chief of Staff General Kelly objected. Google it. and, (3) the age of some of the allegations is irrelevant; observe the duration. It has long surprised me that a strenuous advocate for Judaeo-Christian principles makes endless excuses for this guy’s depraved conduct.
Any mention of “blood” by a potential world leader is worthy of scrutiny. “Bloodbath” can be used figuratively, but Trump is so immersed in “retribution,” “targeting” opponents, and dark threats of violence “like never before,” that no reasonable person would ignore his “dogwhistle “ language.
Furthermore, according to one close source, Trump has mused about re-introducing electrocution and even the guillotine for public executions. When asked about it, then-AG Bill Barr who was present said, “I don’t recall that specific instance,’ but there were others where we talked about executing people.” Trump knows well the often-thrilling effect of violent or lurid language on his base, and the predictable angry defense of “out of context” or “misinterpretation.” Can’t wait to hear him explain his Truth Social boast, “I Hate Taylor Swift!”
The accusations you shamelessly wave about the president and “Biden Crime Family” are old and tattered. Multiple Republican congressional hearings have adjourned for lack of evidence. But thanks for the laugh about the “Democrat [sic] varsity players down to the Democrat [sic] Little Leaguers, the bench is scabrously deep with serial sinners.” We are all “serial sinners,” Martin, but your starting lineup of Trump and Vance clobbers us from the warmup.
You still think women’s competency is limited to housework, but you may need to fasten your seatbelt. VP Harris did well at the debate, where she confidently spoke of the future of America, of policies and plans, while Trump bragged of a “concept of a plan.” Don’t worry your pretty little noggin, Martin, about her female sensitivity. Or the chance of her “kowtowing to China, saluting Russia, or bowing to North Korea.” That’s Trump’s “patent-pending” schtick.
Trump is an elderly, disgruntled, darkly self-obsessed, actor/salesman, all dolled up with anaranjado makeup and cotton candy hair, trying to recreate the glory days of his 1970’s gig as the king of NYC glitterati. He neither knows nor cares about the needs of the country going forward or an oath to the Constitution. He slaps on the girdle, puts on the shoe lifts, the extra-wide shoulder pads and eternity tie, steps on the stage, flashes the false teeth, and performs a one-man Macbeth. Hustling $100 cartoonish virtual cards of himself, bibles, sparkly hightops, and one last curtain call.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Oddly, Trump has been unusually candid lately on essential issues (although still laughably denying his clear connection to P/2025 or accountability for anything else). For just a sample:
After a court plea last week to overturn his $88-million-dollar liability verdicts for sexual abuse/defamation of E. Jean Carroll in 2023, Trump, unprompted and “weirdly,” defended himself in graphic detail against an entirely different sexual assault case on an airplane that the court had not allowed into evidence at Carroll’s trial. Dozens of women have accused Trump of rape or sexual misconduct dating back to the 1970s, including his now-deceased ex-wife, Ivana.
Posting that VP Harris campaign donors “will not escape his retribution” if they participate in a 2024 “election steal, as they did in 2020,” Trump said they will be “targeted,” and “prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our country.” As he so often does, Trump projects his wrongful acts onto others, then threatens them not to do as he did.
In a video interview last week with Lex Fridman about the 2020 election, Trump admitted that, “I lost it by a whisker.” It is not the only evidence of “The Big Lie.” Several of Trump’s then-aides have confirmed that Trump knew he had lost. In a recent interview with Mark Levin on Fox, Trump said he “had a perfect right to interfere” with the election. Every court, including SCOTUS, has rejected Trump’s fraud claims.
Nevertheless, post-election, while his minions threatened selected elections workers, unsuccessful candidate Trump tried to shake down GA and other states’ officers for votes, directed an insurrection, hyped fake electors, GOP election deniers, and the base, in activating the false alarm of “Stop the Steal.” Nick Fuentes, Holocaust denier and White Nationalist friend of Trump, furiously accused Trump of “tremendous betrayal” and “callus [sic] indifference to the sacrifices that his supporters made on his behalf.” He suckered them all for his own ambition and to avoid jail.
Trump warned last Saturday that, “This may be our last election. You want to know the truth? People have said that.” Who has said it? Trump, repeatedly. It’s a P/2025 promise. The greatest victory that despotic leaders can have against the Free World is to arrest the heart of democracy, the vote, by inducing distrust of elections with a false cry of “voter fraud,” so that elections become unreliable and irrelevant, and alternate authoritative power can prevail to “fix the [unbroken] system.” The GOP, now thoroughly Trump’s Party has, since at least 2020, legislated extensively to constrain the votes of minorities, particularly in the South. MAGA has already embraced democratically-suicidal election distrust, without evidence, based solely on Trump’s knowingly false assertions.
Once faith is lost in democratic processes and principles, chaos and violence are increasingly likely, as is now threatened by the Far-Right Heritage Foundation: there will be a bloodless revolution [under P/2025], unless the Left resists). What the Trump Party plans is no mystery anymore. The facts can all be Googled.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
Martin, you asked, “Who would ever say such a stupid, irreverent thing? Not any Commander-in-Chief“ about Trump declaring that healthy Presidential Medal of Freedom awardees are superior to US Medal of Honor recipients who are bullet-ridden or dead. You wishfully insisted that the many incidents of Trump’s disregard for the military have been debunked.
General John Kelly, whose son is among those buried at Arlington, in a first-person account said that Trump, “thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs, are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me,” and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers,’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.” Because it was raining. The hair! The makeup!
Last week, “The Military Times” reported that Trump was attempting to create a campaign photo-op at Arlington attacking President Biden for the rapid Afghanistan withdrawal (a deal Trump negotiated). It is a federal crime to take campaign photographs in Section 60 (Iraq and Afghanistan dead) and Trump’s entourage had been formally so advised. Nevertheless, his photographer shot a picture with Trump smiling and giving “two thumbs up” over military graves in Section 60. A staffer enforcing the rules was roughed up by Trump’s “people” who threatened her as a “mental case” and demanded she be fired.
These are not obscure, trivial, and “debunked” observations of Trump. Why is it you want this man to be Commander-in-Chief?
But he’s not just a pretend patriot. Let’s give credit when due. Howza, howza! Step right up to collecttrumpcards.com where for only $99 each you can buy digital Trump Trading Cards, one which shows him “dancing,” one with a buffalo companion, and the comedic zenith with Trump reimagined as Adonis with rolled-up sleeves over arms that rival Schwarzenegger’s. Buy 15 of these babies ($1,500 dollars or bitcoin) and you will get one actual physical card.
Buy 75 ($7,500) and you can have dinner with the ex-president, not at Mar-a-Lago, but at his Jupiter FL hotel. Woo-woo!
You can also get a pair of super-rare platinum high tops, two pairs of $299 gold tennies (“a $498 value!”), some autographed, and (be still my heart)…a piece of his suit worn at the Biden debate and, for specially selected collectors, a piece of his red tie. Donold advises that these treasures can be passed down to eager generations to come. He’s already selling pieces of his stuff, like the relics of a saint, even before he gets to hawking himself to international despots.
This is how deep the grift goes with Trump. He claims to support the military for political purposes but has no respect for actual soldiers. He sells overpriced junk to his faithful base while claiming he will solve inflation within “the first 100 days.” And some people believe him.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
My sympathies, Martin. Sometimes older people view everything from the rosy nostalgia of youth, and anything inconsistent with it seems aberrant. Everything was better back then, the present is a catastrophe, the future hell. The human condition has always been one of challenge. I understand why the DNConvention traumatized you. It was an optimistic, joyful celebration of our American Freedoms going forward, as opposed to the “American carnage” of Trump.
The “Reproductive Rights” section of P/2025 reenforces that overturning Roe reflects the Far-Right position that women are not to be trusted to responsibly control their own reproductive functions. Even doctors are not considered qualified to assist in reproductive choices or emergencies. Someone is responsible for a pregnancy, and to MAGA, it must be the government. This is not Freedom.
Numerous horrifying cases of raped women and children, women with ectopic pregnancies, or spontaneous abortion, being denied care until the woman is near death’s door, or can reach another state, are legion. Criminalization of assistance is common in red states. VP nominee Vance has said out loud what many Republicans think: feminism has ruined America, and we need to get back to Old Testament authority. “Covenant marriage” should be endured, even if violent. Pregnancy from rape is an “inconvenience.” Childless women are “cat ladies” (and presumably Democrats) who want everyone to be as “miserable” as they are in society, and post-menopausal women are good for only one thing: babysitting. JD, a woman with a cat is anything but miserable. He knows little about cats, zayroh about women. But he mirrors P/2025.
P/2025 vows “to remove the terms abortion, reproductive health, and reproductive rights from every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation and piece of legislation that exists” so that even the language of reproduction is forbidden. It proposes eliminating condoms from Health Resources & Service Administration guidelines because they are “not women’s preventative service.” Women are culpable for their pregnancies, consensual or not, and legislation will ensure they can do nothing to prevent it, with contraception or condoms, or remedy it to claim their own lives. This is not Freedom.
The1873 Comstock Act will be revived so that mail-order abortifacients (mifepristone) or contraception will be considered “lewd and pornographic.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has called homosexuality “pornography,” and pornography will be outlawed. A State representative deemed transgenderism human “filth.” Books with sexual references, especially to “errant or excessive sexuality” will be banned. A Florida school pulled images of Michelangelo’s David because some parents considered it pornographic. This is what P/2025 calls “freedom.” This is not Freedom.
Many others of us believe Freedom is the right to live your own life without needless harm to others.
• You don’t want an abortion, don’t have one.
• You don’t want to use a condom, don’t, but make certain it’s consensual, and be prepared for the result.
• You don’t want to use a mail-order prescription for a chemical abortion or contraception, don’t.
• You don’t want to view books with sexual content, or don’t want your kids to do so, don’t.
• You don’t want your kids to learn actual history, don’t impose ignorance on our kids, too.
•You think Michelangelo’s David is pornographic. There are no words.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
I am hoping that Martin and space will allow two LTTEs from me this week. I am grateful for his prior indulgence. I do not want to ignore R. Shiells’ comments on Yahweh, or YHWH, because so few people know this term, and this happens to be one of my areas of interest.
In Exodus, when Moses met God in the burning bush on Mt. Sinai (Horeb in some traditions) and received the Ten Commandments, he was understandably concerned that the often-miscreant people fleeing Egypt would demand the source of his astounding story. In Exodus 3:13, Moses asked God’s name. God replied, “I am who I am,” often translated as “I Am Who Am,” expressed as YHWH. This tetragrammaton, meaning “four letters” was so holy, only priests could say the name. More common Hebrew names were also used by seculars, “Elohim” and later the Hebrew word “Adonai,” and “Kyrios” in the Greek Septuagint.
What’s amazing in Judaeo-Christian theology is that God – who does not need us – sought a relationship with us. Secular history does not say much about Jesus of Nazareth or of his ministry, but some historians make mention of a small movement challenging the authority of the Jewish Sanhedrin during the Roman occupation of Israel. St. Paul, who may be the greatest public relations guy in history, was instrumental in spreading Christianity to the then-existing western world. Once the “good news” of the Gospels found its way to Rome, it flourished and spread. It was a novel idea: the concept of a man/God who suffered and died so that God would forgive our sins and taught that we are all equal in God’s eyes. The message was revolutionary, and raised ordinary people to realize their innate worth. It was Spiritual Freedom.
The “tough love” of the Old Testament was surpassed by the loving God of compassion and generosity toward neighbors. Whether a person’s human life is rich or poor, king or servant, of whatever sexuality, wounded or healthy, prisoner or addict, they are equal in the eyes of God.
I don’t know if Ryan thinks my understanding is divergent from his on this subject. I think Christianity is the most humane, brilliant, and loving message of any religion with which I am familiar. The tough part is to practice it. But I acknowledge Ryan’s willingness to share his opinion publicly, and especially on this fascinating subject.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
How will you vote
In the unlikely event that the spirit of ignorance has dulled your lightning fast brain, the question was; 'how will you vote', not who or what will you choose to validate as your choice in the coning elections. Hopefully not you but very probably someone you know may be considering the option of refusing their opportunity to register and communicate their choice for governing authorities and agendas that benefit the people rather than an all powerful, assuming and consuming government. God said by the hand of Isaiah that His people fail through the lack of knowledge or understanding. Have you not yet recognized that by not voting you are voting for the continued progression of large government dictating every aspect of your lives?
The Marxist creed declares there is no god other than government and it must be controlled through whatever deceptive tactics are necessary for maintaining and expanding their totalitarian, egregious power over the people and their ways of life. Now is the time for you to make your decision and you will find there are consequences.
This election cannot be founded on personalities or political parties but must be based on principle. One side wants to rethink or change our Constitution. The same side declares they propose equity. This is a twisting of semantics because equity is not the same as equality. Equity equals conformity meaning that everyone gets what the government wants to provide, no matter how little. Equality is the opportunity to choose for ones self how much they desire to gain or achieve. Our Constitution is in place to guarantee the right of every citizen the pursuit of life, liberty and Justice. Your cannot afford to be a spectator as you watch the decline of our nation into conformity. Very quickly you will find you are drug out of the coliseum as a spectator and thrown into the mouth of the lions.
Stan Mason,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
“Old Bone Spurs,” has called military dead “suckers” and “losers,” and pontificated that prisoners of war are not “heroes” (John McCain). Trump himself avoided service, and in 1998 said his “Vietnam” was not getting a STD in NYC in the 1970’s, for which he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor. Google it. Last week produced another astoundingly dismissive comment on military service. .
The Trump Campaign has dusted off the Swift-Boat manual from the days when Naval Officer, multiple Purple Heart recipient and swift-boat captain in Vietnam (turned anti-war protester), John Kerry, ran for president against George W. Bush, whose service in the Air National Guard was rife with missed training and physicals, low pilot scores (but high ratings from superiors), and post-dated, altered, or lost military records to substantiate his claims of service to qualify for early retirement to go to Harvard Business School.
Chris LaCivita managed that shameful but successful campaign against Kerry in 2000, and he's back now as the co-chair of the Trump Campaign. The Campaign enlisted VP nominee JDVance to attack the military service of his opponent, Tim Walz. Vance served for four years as a marine “combat journalist” in Iraq. He saw little action, but the point is he gave a portion of his life to his country in the capacity assigned, and I thank him for his service.
The Campaign accuses Walz of the most serious military accusation other than desertion, that of “stolen valor,” undeservedly claiming military acts of war. It is outrageous and untrue, but it’s the way LaCivita, Trump, and Vance roll, and it has worked before.
However, the claim of “retiring as a Command Staff Sergeant” was rightfully called out. Walz had not completed the coursework necessary for that title. The record has been hastily corrected, and we all can use the reminder to scrutinize our claims.
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has said of Congressman Walz, "He was there every single time we [veterans] needed him”….When the rubber meets the road, Tim Walz has been there." Joe Eustice, a Republican veteran of Walz’s battalion, said of Walz, "He was as good a soldier as you’ll find."
At his Bedminster Golf Club last week, Trump told a crowd that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “much better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to war heroes who are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” And this guy wants to be the Commander-in-Chief of our military forces.
Somebody out there, please, given his history and pattern of disrespect for veterans and even Gold Star families, explain why he should.
Someone described Trump as being “empty.” His childhood was devoid of love and affection, a crippling experience creating a desperate need for attention and gratification. His relationships are all transactional, truth irrelevant. Everything, everyone is useful only if they help fill his insatiable need. Our country, to Trump, is mere emotional collateral.
To all of you who served, and to your families who also served, thank you. Thank You.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor
In order for democrats to “save our democracy” they now urge us to vote for the candidate they installed without a single vote, after lying to everyone about the incumbents health, in order to prevent a primary that their non democratically elected candidate easily could have participated in, yet she made a clear choice not to. Additionally, followers must avoid critical thinking and not attempt to recognize or discuss that their candidate was polling in the single digits when she failed to become the Democrats presidential nominee in a much fairer appearing primary process 3 and a half years ago. So in their demented mindset, brought to them via the elite owned media which has been constructed to control the opinions of their lowly subjects (that’s us for the slow people reading this), and in the name of democracy, they must be compelled to ignore this rigged process for their latest supposed freedom fighter and avoid any critical thinking in favor of the usual face value approach. Then laughably, they tell us for the sake of the country, get out there and vote for this lady in order to “save our Democracy” despite the fact that she unquestionably and blatantly skirted around the democratic process with the help of the incestuous media apparatus firmly in the oppressors control. What an absolute clown world we now find ourselves in. Should we really have expected anything else from a portion of the populace that actually believes a child’s sex at birth does not determine gender (given they haven’t been aborted and had their tissues sold for science and profit)?
And all the while, the Kelly Scoles of the world, riveted to their boob tubes and National Propaganda Radio, with their world class Trump Derangement syndrome and confirmation bias, dutifully report the propaganda served to them on a weekly basis as if its the gospel without ever once apologizing for all the times they were dead wrong along the way. Jim Jones would not be infamous today without followers of this ilk, and when you look into the composition of his followers, the similarities are many. Truth be told, todays media would portray Yeshua himself (real biblical name is not Jesus by the way, but we can save that bait and switch for another day) as a crazed local carpenter guilty of spreading horrible disinformation that is deemed harmful and dangerous by their own pre-chosen lot of nefariously funded religious experts, who would then work to censor him and convince their devoted flock of seemingly lobotomized sheep that they were only doing so for their own good. May God (real biblical name is YHWH in case accuracy still matters) help us all.
R. Shiells
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
I have not read all 877 pages of the Heritage Foundation’s “Mandate for Leadership 2025 The Conservative Promise,” or the “playbook” for the first 180 days of the ”next Republican administration” drafted by Russ Vought, a former Trump OMB official and member of the RNC’s platform committee, or Heritage CEO Kevin Roberts’ book outlining Project 2025 (“P/2025”) which has been removed from publication until after the election because there’s no need to rile up the base this close to the election.
P/2025 is a dystopian rejection of the language and spirit of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When word began to circulate what it was really proposing, every cable show except FOX analyzed it. Following the revelation, Trump passionately claimed ignorance about it and the people involved. In truth, he knows all the participants, has employed half of them in the WH, extols the Heritage Foundation, and is very much aware of the contents of P/2025.
P/2025 is the blueprint for a “second American Revolution” (“bloodless” unless anyone resists), a plan to alter government function, process, and authority.
1. Plans for an autocratic system that will remove safeguards inherent in the Constitutional “balance of power” between branches of government and give the president sole executive authority (“Unitary Executive”). It dissipates democracy (recall Trump’s promise to Christians that 2024 was the last time they would have to vote, after he “fixes” the system).
This is a decades-long plan (at least since Reagan). To create numerous truly dependable authoritarians, with Jerry Falwell’s help, they devised a hybrid of the church militant of Far-Right Christianity and Republican politics. A form of conservatism imbued with divine authority. Bingo.
2. To reward that base, P/2025 proposes to legislatively infuse varying levels of White Nationalism with “Old Testament Christianity” (where Christ’s admonition of Love Over Law is ignored for that of a vindictive, jealous deity). Legislation will define family structure in “covenant marriage,” force progeny over women’s reproductive rights, cultural rules, and the religious biases of the government. “Freedom” will be available only within those government-imposed parameters.
P/2025 proposes, within the first 180 days, to restructure the power and function of government. To reinstate Trump’s executive order regarding Schedule “F” (Biden rescinded it) and dismiss current non-partisan federal employees and replace them with vetted Republican political appointees in “confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions.” There will be no contradiction of the Chief Executive (what Trump so admired about the dictator Orban). Vetting and training have already occurred.
P/2025 proposes the abolishment of multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Transportation Security Administration, whose functions would be eliminated, subsumed by other agencies, or privatized.
“Privatization” has been an objective of Republican economics. One definition of “fascism” is “the corporatization of government.” History has shown that placing governmental functions in the hands of chosen private entrepreneurs gives them greater power, produces less transparency, but creates wealthy political donors. All responsible to only the “Unitary Executive,” the single ultimate authority. Exactly why we fought the American Revolution against King George and WWII against Hitler and the Emperor.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Martin, I hope you are writing The Great American Novel in your spare time, because it would be a shame to let your prodigious imagination be limited to mere Editorials. You do want everyone to practice your Old Testament Christianity and enforce it with laws (against same-sex marriage, parents’ choices for their children, women’s reproductive rights, suppression of studies of racism, etc.) no matter their personal beliefs. You vilify Putin, forgetting that Trump servilely compliments him at every opportunity, and you believe “depraved” Liberals are not qualified to govern in this democracy (shades of Limbaugh). Your talent is at its apex when you claim that Trump’s values are Judaeo-Christian. Just sayin’, fiction is clearly your genre.
Recently, Trump addressed “my beautiful Christians” to urge them to come out in droves for the coming election, but advised, “You won’t have to vote in four years, because the country will be fixed, and frankly, we won’t even need your vote anymore.” “Fixed” is outlined in Project 2025 on voting rights. Republicans everywhere were disbelieving, shocked, or made pathetic excuses. Google it.
Trump implied he would leave office voluntarily after four more years. “I did last time. I keep hearing… “he’s not going to leave” [see above].” Trump did not leave voluntarily at the end of his term. He instigated an insurrection against the certification process, still claims he was cheated, and is now saying that there won’t be a need to vote after 2024. He again called to purge dissenters from the Republican Party.
At the National Black Journalists Association last week, “macho-man” Trump at first refused to go on stage unless they agreed not to fact-check him (they declined), objected to “nasty” questions from “rude” female journalists who raised his past racial statements, questioned VP Harris’ racial heritage, and was pulled off early by his team when he began to implode.
Trump’s trash-talking America extended to the Biden Administration’s achieving the release of Americans and other prisoners in Russia. Biden managed to get allies to agree against their own interests in the negotiations. Trump lost his chance for that predicted “favor” from Putin and responded with his usual non-statesman like petulancy, and the MAGA House responded with a demand for yet another hearing. Meanwhile, Trump has refused to debate Harris on ABC as agreed.
Bullies often self-soothe by inflicting derogatory names on their opponents, but Trump has failed to stick one to VP Harris. For now, it’s her “low IQ” and her “cackle,” her full-throated and strong celebration of enthusiasm and mirth in laughter. She has optimism and hope for the country and our democracy (like FDR, JFK, Reagan, Obama, and Biden).
But Trump knows that, unless he can sell his base a menacing, apocalyptic view of our future without him, distrust and dismissal of their fellow Americans, and dispense with democratic processes like voting, the MAGA Plan will not succeed. Hope, optimism, democratic commitment, and laughter are the last things he can handle.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
As a former American History and Civics teacher, who has spent more than my share of time studying the US Constitution and the discussions that took place around it, I’m fascinated by the position of Christian Nationalists.
Before the Constitution was ratified and when they had every opportunity to write God and church into it, there were lengthy discussions about that very subject. And they chose not to. The very definition of deliberately.
For any Catholics out there, who think that when they were talking about Christians back then, they were talking about Catholics? I hate to tell you, they weren’t talking about you. My own ancestors, who were active in those discussions, are credibly believed to have sheltered the conspirators who beheaded King Charlie for his Catholicism. They still aren’t talking about you. So put that aside before it bites you.
What I find most fascinating is the fixation on the 10 Commandments. Not that there’s anything wrong with them. I believe in living by them. Unfortunately, your golden calf, Trump, thinks they are a checklist for what to violate. And they are in the Old Testament. Not the New Testament. You know, the one based on the teachings of the Christ.
If it’s Christianity you’re interested in, how about a little focus on what Jesus taught? Take the Sermon on the Mount, for example. There He gave us the Beatitudes. As a refresher, here they are for your consideration.
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right; they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful; they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of what is right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Now ask yourself. What is Christian?
Razor wire in the river or food for hungry schoolchildren?
Tax breaks for the rich or programs to support middle class workers?
Unrestricted pollution or care of the earth?
I would love to live in a truly Christian Nation. Christian in practice, not in empty proclamation.
Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Martin, if I recall correctly, you have always tended a bit “gloomy.” I assumed it was because we all failed to meet your standards of heavenly perfection. Politically, I saw you as “conservative,” longing for the “good old days,” but now you are a Far-Right Radical, partisan about the Constitution, committed to telling other people what religion they should follow, how to raise their children, and what values they should practice (Trump excepted). Yet, you defend Trump and other political officials, including SCOTUS, when they repeatedly violate what appear to be your personal morals and ethics, because they are authoritarians.
As have non-believers, Judaeo-Christians, too, have perpetrated atrocities over the centuries. For instance, the Holocaust, and the Russian attack of Ukraine Many people claim religious moral values, but very few seem to live them, even as they try to coerce them in others. While moral conduct may derive from religious ideals, it always arises, or doesn’t, from the impacts of conscience.
Your commitment to Ukraine, which I also support, is inconsistent with your endorsement of Trump. In a recent telephone conversation, Trump teased Zelensky, promising a “fair” peace treaty if he is elected in November. But in a plan prepared by General Keith Kellog and Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump’s National Security Council (2017-2021), the “peace” would be based upon the territories occupied at the time of the cease-fire. Trump already knows Putin won’t cede ground, so it will be up to Ukraine.
Those terms would be an endorsement of invasion by a larger country of a smaller country to gain territory and dominance, a betrayal of democratic-leaning countries, and a weakening of NATO. An international stunt encouraging future conflict and world-war. Brilliant.
Trump’s admiration of despots is motivated by his fear of them. He is enamored of Kim Jong Un, has complimented Putin on his “genius” attack on Ukraine, extolled Orban, and has indicated his lack of support for NATO unless the members “pay up,” or “Putin can do whatever the hell he wants.” “America First,” is another blatant example of Trump’s short-term, hustler view of U.S. interests. While MAGA celebrates that small-world idiocy, China and Russia are financing transportation and infrastructure projects in Africa, South America, and elsewhere, creating future allies, as Trump denies familiarity with Project 2025, whines about nickels and dimes, and prepares tax cuts for billionaires.
I don’t know all MAGA individuals. My criticisms are of facts. The MAGA movement under Project 2025 endorses, knowingly or not, the Republican authoritarian model to supplant much of our government, and to create a forced religion-based social and legal order.
Equating constitutional concerns with “Hunter Biden’s laptop” is all you got, Martin? Two years of tax resources and Republican voodoo warnings and hearings on the President being head of the “Crooked Biden Family” went nowhere. Any apologies for that?
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
The RNC Convention was a glitzy event including fourth tier “celebrities,” a stream of Trump family members, including a 3-year-old granddaughter who looked like a rent-a-kid on his knee, and people celebrating with sanitary napkins on their ears.
The promised “new and gentler” wounded warrior first called for “unity,” forgetting that he had recently called half of the citizenry “losers and haters,” and “traitors.” After 15 minutes on the teleprompter, the “uniter” was exhausted and, after reverently confiding that “the ear is the bloodiest organ in the body,” restored the same old hate mongering at which he excels.
He decried Democrats who “have weaponized the DOJ” by prosecuting him for his personal malfeasance and crimes, but failed to mention that Republican Project 2025 plans to do exactly that in their “second revolution” to authoritarian government.
MAGA’s candidate is a man who nearly four years ago incited an insurrection against the US Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and still insists falsely that he won the 2020 election, though no Court including SCOTUS agrees, has been twice impeached while in office, is the subject of serial indictments, was found liable for sexual assault and defamation, and convicted of 34 felonies including fraud.
The RNC and Trump loyalists are desperate for the base to ignore all that messy business and Project 2025, so altered their Party platform to avoid subjects like abortion and planned expansion of control over women’s bodies, tax breaks for the wealthy, and the change of the federal power structure to a Republican authoritarian model in Project 2025. The GOP faithful seemed giddily unconcerned about the chasm between truth and what the nominee really plans.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden, under increasing pressure to withdraw from the presidential race from within his Party because of a serious fumble in the earlier presidential debate, and his inability to rest those fears in subsequent interviews, endorsed VP Kamala Harris.
While I fault Democratic operatives for a number of moves along the way, I am grateful Biden understood that, for all the outstanding things he accomplished for the ordinary citizens of our country, his particular experience of being in his 80’s was a detriment to public confidence in 4 more years. Only a handful of presidents have had the courage and faith in America to step aside for the good of the country. Joe is one of them.
In contrast Trump, the transient “uniter” went on Truth Social to condemn Biden’s decision because his team would have to “start all over again” and advocated for reimbursement to the RNC. In a genius foreign relations proposal, Trump proposed taking North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to a New York Yankees game to soothe his mania for nukes. Yeah, Trump. You got this.
But Trump can relax. He has already secured his singular, highest possible achievement as the most ignoble, feral, noxious gasbag in America.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor #1:
In a lengthy smokescreen in last week’s Editorial, you deflected to Robert Bork’s rejection 40 years ago because he was a condescending, authoritarian, end-of-his-nose “originalist.” It was dwarfed by the dishonor of the Republican Senate when Mitch McConnell refused to even consider Obama’s SCOTUS March 2016 nomination of Merrick Garland because, at 9 months before the election, “it is too close.” But Republicans pushed through Amy Barrett’s confirmation on October 27, one week before the 2020 election. Republicans have repeatedly maneuvered undemocratically and disdained respect for the principles of democracy. Please boo-hoo your outrage about something that is not ridiculous.
In Trump v. United States, note that the “originalist” point of view is discarded by Repo SCOTUS when politically expedient (*).
Justice Sotomayor’s dissent to the Immunity Decision included, * “The majority today endorses an expansive vision of Presidential immunity that was never recognized by the Founders, any sitting President, the Executive Branch, or even President Trump’s lawyers, until now…and invents an unjustifiable immunity that puts the President above the law. The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably.”
Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson wrote: “Departing from the traditional model of individual accountability, the majority has concocted something entirely different: a Presidential accountability model that creates immunity - an exemption from criminal law - applicable only to the most powerful official in our government.”
CJ Roberts wrote that his three liberal colleagues had misinterpreted the majority’s opinion and were engaging in “fear mongering,” and “strike a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the Court actually does today.” The familiar “don’t worry your empty little heads” dismissal.
Roberts scoffed at Sotomayor’s dissent, saying that her “most compelling piece of evidence consists of an “old debate” (ignoring that Alito argued the Middle Ages in his decision overturning Roe). * “But those statements reflect only the now-discredited argument that any immunity not expressly mentioned in the Constitution must not exist.” Note that the Republican SCOTUS “originalist” arguments are ghosted when it benefits their political objectives.
Trump v. United States proves that “originalism” is a fraud. Nothing in the Constitution provides for presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers that presidents in the new republic would not have unlimited power but could be prosecuted for criminal acts to enshrine the core principle that “no one is above the law,” and that the new republic would be free from the danger of an absolute monarchy rejected by the Founding Fathers.
The SCOTUS “originalist” Republican supermajority eliminates rights already in place (Roe v. Wade), denies expansion of rights to ordinary citizens (often gaslighting the truth, e.g., the Immunity Decision) and increases rights to the Executive and the Courts (but not to the Congress who represent the people at a more local level). They are making it up and increasingly embrace the objectives of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor #2:
Thank you, Martin, for allowing two LTTE from me in this eventful week.
As of this writing, we do not know all the facts about the wounding of Trump at a Saturday rally in Butler, PA. The most intelligent, responsible thing we can do is postpone judgment until all the facts are known.
We do know that sniper Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire with an AR-15-style gun killing one person, critically injuring two others, and inflicting a minor wound which could have been much worse, to the ear of the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump. Crooks was killed by the USSService (why were they not on the vantage point outside the rally?) President Biden condemned the attack and called Trump to express his hopes for a full recovery.
Apparently, Crooks was a registered Republican but donated $15 dollars to ActBlue, and a loner except for his membership in a pro-gun organization, Demolition Ranch. The perp reportedly had a large stash of weapons in this home. His motive is still unclear.
For three years, Trump’s violent rhetoric has warned that, if he is not returned to power, MAGA will erupt and the Constitution could be temporarily “terminated.” He has used the words “bloodbath,” “retribution,” “bedlam,” and “authoritarian.” He has mimicked mothers crying over their child dying of a drug overdose.
Evidence of false and hate-filled accusations, particularly from the Right, has reached such a toxic level that violence, as it always does, has turned toward even the one who first introduced it to recent politics.
Congressman Mike Collins,(R-GA) immediately pronounced that “Biden sent the orders.” VP candidate JD Vance (R-OH) echoed the accusation. Margie Green (R-GA) bleated: “We are in a battle between Good and Evil. The Democrats are the party of pedophiles, murdering the innocent unborn, violence, and bloody, meaningless, endless wars.” Others insisted that the President had refused to provide adequate USSS protection to Trump. This is madness.
In the podcast interview of Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, think tank leader Kevin Roberts declared that Democrats will be responsible for any political violence around the election. “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be.”
So, a bloody civil war will be avoided only if Democrats capitulate to the threats of MAGA and Trump and surrender to the unconstitutional plans of Project 2025. If liberals or disaffected Republicans resist, they will be dealt with violently. This is the admitted Republican Plan for America but does not resemble the American Promise.
Either MAGA is eager to replace US Constitutional principles with authoritarian doctrine or can’t understand or don’t care about the implications to our democratic republic.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor of the Fillmore Gazette,
I am writing to advocate for the County of Ventura to take control of the Fillmore Western Railway and reinvigorate the train museum in Fillmore. The current state of the railway, particularly the dilapidated railroad bridge crossing the Sespe Creek, is a significant concern that requires immediate attention.
The Fillmore Western Railway is not just a mode of transportation but a vital piece of our history. It played a crucial role in the settlement and development of Ventura County, and as such, it deserves to be preserved and celebrated. By taking control of the railway, the county can ensure that this historical asset is maintained properly and utilized to its full potential.
Reinvigorating the train museum and offering regular train tours and events can bring substantial revenue to our cities and county. These activities will attract tourists, history enthusiasts, and families, providing a unique and educational experience while boosting the local economy. Moreover, preserving and showcasing our railway heritage can instill a sense of pride in our community and ensure that future generations understand and appreciate the historical significance of the Fillmore Western Railway.
I urge the county officials to recognize the importance of this issue and take the necessary steps to restore and maintain this invaluable part of our history. Investing in the Fillmore Western Railway and the train museum is not just about preserving the past but also about creating a vibrant future for our community.
Sincerely,
Justin Gruetzmacher,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
This LTTE concerns only the majority opinion in Trump v. US, important because it is the most significant SCOTUS decision since Dodds and Bush v. Gore. Next week, the minority dissent. I hope to get to other significant SCOTUS decisions this term. I’m afraid this is necessarily a little academic, but not as bad as if I were a constitutional law scholar.
It is noteworthy that both Justices Thomas and Alito, both whose conduct raises serious issues of impartiality, participated in the decision with no objection by CJ Roberts. The 94-page decision made no attempt at public clarity, leaves a trail of undefined terms, and sends the mess back to Judge Chutkan to solve.Then, SCOTUS will decide if she’s right or wrong in guessing what they really mean. Here is one link: 23-939_e2pg.pdf (supremecourt.gov).
The “Immunity Decision” significantly increased the power of the Chief Executive, (consistent with Project 2025 of the Republican Heritage Foundation). The holding in Trump v. US is that a president operates with immunity from prosecution depending on whether the conduct is deemed “official” or “unofficial.” Core “official” constitutional conduct (e.g., acting as Commander-in-Chief) has absolute immunity. Other “official conduct” (communicating with heads of state) has “presumptive immunity,” meaning that unless the government establishes that the prosecution will not create a danger of intrusion on the authority and functions of the Executive Branch and “official” conduct, the president is immune. “Unofficial conduct” is not immune from prosecution, with caveats.
So, a former president is presumed immune from criminal liability while in office unless the prosecutor can prove that the president’s criminal act was purely “unofficial conduct” and: the proof of criminality requires no showing of mens rea, or motive, or does not rely on conduct tied to “official acts,” wherein he is immune.
A slight crack in the marble is all we have to hold him accountable. He is the only American citizen to be “above the law.” That is not what the Constitution intended, especially to an “originalist.”
Only ex-president Trump has required labelling of his conduct and parsing language to save him from criminal liability. No other ex-president has been accused of trying to overthrow the government, was convicted by juries of two frauds, liable for sexual assault, and is forever sniveling that he is being victimized as “no president has ever before” (apologies to Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy). He insists that none of it is due to his aberrant conduct. It’s someone else’s fault, always.
Martin, you assert that Trump is being persecuted and is innocent because he says so. He needs people like you to trust him, no matter that experience and glaring facts prove he is a chronic liar, cruel about others, the epitome of self-congratulation and -aggrandizement, and a child when it comes to accountability. You need him to prove that your passion for authoritarianism in life, politics, and “Old-Testament Christianity” is valid, even if contrary to the Constitution.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Last week’s political and legal events were cautionary. In substance, the Presidential Debate was a contest between two elderly candidates for president, one who was overprepped and did not do a good job explaining his administration’s accomplishments on behalf of ordinary Americans, and a surprisingly semi-disciplined ex-president who unsurprisingly lied at every turn, who felt it necessary to insist he “did not have sex with a porn star (a unanimous jury found otherwise), who insisted on debating golf handicaps, and who must have gotten to the makeup tray first so there was little left for Joe. At Biden’s rally the next day when he vowed to do better, one could only wish that guy had shown up the night before.
While half the Democratic operatives lost their cookies the rest of us, while very surprised and unhappy with our candidate’s performance, know that debates are not a hard basis for success, and a lot is going to happen between now and November 5.
Some of the Democratic political class, busy wilting like violets, probably didn’t tune into Fox (and should occasionally) when Shannon Bream said, “He [Biden] had one bad night. He was sick. You know, it’s ancient history.” It is noteworthy that Biden did not offer any excuses, unlike Mr. Trump who always whines whenever he doesn’t like the outcome.
What is far more concerning are the decisions from SCOTUS this term. There is no way to describe each of them in just this LTTE because of length, but they have the potential to change America in a way that is not supportive of the rights of individual citizens. They are nearly all in favor of the government, and the “have’s” as opposed to the “have-nots.”
Every one of them is consistent with Project 2025, the Republican blueprint for remaking the government so that only the president, and his political operatives, will control the functioning of the government for a “one man rule,” also known as a dictatorship. Moreover, this SCOTUS is making itself central to even Congressional legislative authority. Checks and balances are quickly being eroded. This is not the America we have known. I will go through some of those cases next week, and then on to Project 2025.
On Monday morning SCOTUS, which has deliberately and strategically dragged its feet since December 2023 on the case US v. Trump, found that a president’s core actions and official actions (without defining them) are immune from criminal prosecution. Be aware that, unless you believe you have committed a crime, you do not need such an accommodation. No other president in 250 years has asked for or needed such protection, but Trump is the exception to that rule because of his criminal conduct and obvious disdain for the Constitution.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
The end of the constitutional right of women to choose abortion was Trump’s orchestrated plan and he revels in it despite reports of tragic consequences. The three Trump SCOTUS appointees swore in confirmation hearings that they would respect “stare decisis” (recognition and respect for established law) if confirmed. But In Dodds v. Jackson, they reneged and overturned Roe v. Wade, because “abortion” was not mentioned in the Constitution. One can only assume they lied to Congress, a federal crime. The Constitution also does not mention “woman.”
This LTTE is not about Inquisition Catholic Justice Sam Alito, the freak flags, and all his lies about them, indicating at the very least an appearance of conflict of interest, for which even the scant ethics rules of the Court call for recusal, and which Alito refuses to honor.
This is not even about Justice Thomas’ acceptance, over the years, of $4.2 million from billionaire Harlan Crow. Or his word-game majority opinion that a “bump stock” is not a machine gun, though it leaves the trigger finger in place so that gun’s recoil continues to hammer the trigger and the rapid-fire deadly results are the same.
It’s about Republican SCOTUS adherence to a concept of “originalism” or “strict constructionism,” which holds that only specifically mentioned rights in the Constitution can be applied to cases before SCOTUS, and that the words of the framers must be read as they would have understood them at the time, with one glaring exception. An honest “originalist” could not now read the Second Amendment to allow civilian use of an AK-15 with bump stock when all the framers knew as “guns” were blunderbusses and flintlocks.
The framers also wrote the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to that Constitution identifying individual rights the government cannot annul. They expected coming generations of SCOTUS to be intelligent enough to relate the framework established by the Constitution to their future reality and rule consistent with its basic objectives. The Republican SCOTUS, and certainly Thomas, is adjudicating back to the 1700’s. The framers would have been embarrassed that 2024 “originalists” still apply their era-conventional cultural ignorance.
Justice Barrett, herself an “originalist,” nevertheless criticized Thomas for his increasing reliance on “law office history books,” and his “highly selective frolic through the archives” in last term’s Samia v. U.S. She also chastised Thomas for his argument for “originalism” as if it were a dispositive mandate in the Constitution when, in fact, it is not mentioned.
In U.S. v. Rahimi, Thomas was the sole dissenting vote to allow a violent domestic abuser to have a gun. For Thomas, the strictest, albeit incorrect “originalist” application of the Second Amendment prevails over common sense. Besides, in the framers’ era, it was legal to beat your wife.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.